Selling Out, God Willing

The other evening, I was watching television and someone mentioned what was supposed to be a best-selling book. Perhaps a book which meets that description is no long what it once was, and then again maybe it's more than it used to be. The publishing industry has seen better times, but people are probably reading more than they ever have been. In any case, I found myself wondering what I would write with the aim of getting a best-seller.

The first thing that occurred to me was that I might adapt what I have written on Twitter, or I might do the same with the best of what I have written for this blog. I don't know if I would have much chance of a best seller on the basis of those materials alone, but if I develop some independent notoriety, the book would really sell itself. People would perhaps be eager enough to read my work the next time around that fame wouldn't be necessary for a second best-seller.

A memoir (thinly-veiled or otherwise) might also sell well, again if I were already a notable figure. Assuming that I don't become famous soon (or ever), what then does that leave me with? Novels aren't exactly in my line, and I don't think that scripts sell well when published. I don't know much about cooking or self-help, so those are out. I don't take good pictures or relate well to kids, so coffee table books and children's literature are out. The picture is bleak.

Of course, I have been wrong often about what I have that people will want. It may very well be that I am overlooking something entirely or dismissing something that has come to mind. A book whose broad outlines I envisioned as part of a novel-writing contest which I rashly entered and did not participate in has received at least polite praise. It would be something of a parody of old scifi pulp novels, and if I proceed with it you will surely be the first to know. To save time, just regularly consult the best seller list for fiction and try to spot my name.